Good news for everyone trapped inside, desperate for something to spend their inordinate free time this weekend; it looks like the Overwatch League is getting back on track, thanks to a couple of sacrifices and old fashioned determination. The league has been relatively motionless since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, first canceling some matches in China, then the western hemisphere, and finally canceling all of the matches that were scheduled to take place.
Blizzard has been hemming and hawing at the puzzle that the Coronavirus presents during a precarious time for the league, with matches moving across the world as various cities host them, along with a move to YouTube Gaming Live. After a relatively enjoyable friendly competition this past weekend hosted entirely by Matt Morello and Mitch Leslie on YouTube that showed fans what Echo looks like in professional play, Blizzard has given the go-ahead for matches to be played online, and this weekend is going to host an absurd number of matches.
Now would be a good time to clear the schedule of the various social gatherings that you were planning on flaking out on regardless.
2 days. 16 games. Welcome back everybody 💪#OWL2020 returns in epic fashion this weekend 🙌
📺 https://t.co/tbTGBrUfiE pic.twitter.com/HrG8t3a8qB
— Overwatch Esports (@OW_Esports) March 23, 2020
While they’re saying that we’re looking at sixteen matches across two days, they are somewhat broken up by their corresponding time zone. Both days start well before dawn for the four Chinese teams to battle for supremacy; Guangzhou, Shanghai, Chengdu and Hangzhou all have their matches at 0100 and 0300 PST, to ensure that fans in China can comfortably watch the streams.
The day is then paused until 1100 PST, where the rest of the teams begin to play their matches against each other up until 2300 PST, with a short break until the Chinese matches begin again on Sunday.
It’s going to be an exhausting weekend for anyone attempting to professionally cover the game, from analysts to hosts, with days likely lasting well over twelve hours. It will all be hosted by the ineffable Soe Gschwind, and she’s already stated that everything will still be continuing, simply altered to make way for the current lockdown in California. Users will continue to get the classic Crunchtime segments, analysts, and an unfortunate amount of advertisements that deafen anyone listening to the stream due to their jacked-up volume settings.
As far as what teams will come out ahead this weekend is frankly anybody’s guess; San Fransisco Shock looked to continue their indomitable streak in the friendlies against Seoul Dynasty this past weekend, so it’s safe to presume that the gap in play hasn’t affected their style and competence. For many others, it’s simply been a while since we’ve seen them truly compete; expect wild betting odds and a handful of upsets.
